I liked the album, but my expectations were sooooo high that, as a successor to ANGELS, I still find myself disappointed with this new album. I have to salute the experimental side of this album, where they really continued to vary in all their pop tracks. However, what I loved about ANGELS was that this more pop, industrial side blended perfectly with what they did in their previous albums. In ATB, I find that their pop side """dominates""" too much on their rock side. I really enjoyed listening to poppy songs like 消失点 or 楽園, and even more the hardest songs like 理解者 and Hamletmachine but as an album in its own right, I don't find the same satisfaction as with ANGELS.
edit: Like every Novembers album, it's growing on me with every listening!

Funny fact: Ryo Matsuyama (Klan Aileen) just married some weeks ago and even if he's the husband, he wanted to pick his wife's name (澁谷 = Shibuya) because he thought that was cooler and the name contains more strokes in kanji. Easy way to think haha

Yeah this performance is really crazy! The aesthetics are really awesome (with the Tokyo Tower in the landscape) and even mixed with incredible musicianships (like the looper or the didgeridoo) it gives a really impressive atmosphere, that's pure magic. They are really incredible in concert, I would dream to see them one day!
I discovered them with Silence Will Speak which I really liked but it was really KLUE that blew my mind. I mean, it's April 2020 but I already have the impression that, both musically and lyrically, this album will become a reference for the new underground japanese artists and bands of the decade. I'm less receptive to their more punk, alternative rock period (second and third album) but even these albums really impressed me.

Remember this festival was organized after a cancellation due to typhoon Hagibis. In less than 24 hours, they were able to convince one dozen of rooms to open their doors. Over 3000 spectators in central Tokyo for an incredible festival.

And for the latest news, they recently posted a new song called Shoumei which will be part of an omnibus album for financial support to Namba Beats, a livehouse in Osaka. (in the same line as KLUE, I loved it!)
As in KLUE, GEZAN once again calls on the people to express their dissatisfaction. This time, the song contains a rabid text against the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, considered too lax about the covid-19 management. The lyrics are available in English on Youtube, I suggest them a lot to be able to understand what they say.

KLUE is currently my AOTY so far and GEZAN is really starting to gain popularity actually. And since I have seen almost nothing about GEZAN on MH, I thought it was a good idea to start this topic.
GEZAN
2009~
noise rock, alternative rock, neo-psychedelia, post-hardcore, art rock...
Mahito the People | vocals, guitar
Eagle Taka | guitar
Carlos Ozaki | bass
Ishihara Loscal | drums | 2017~
Shark Yasue | drums | 2009~2016
Formed at Osaka in 2009, GEZAN (下山 at the time) got its start in noise rock at Namba Bears, a famous underground livehouse in the Namba district of Osaka, and notably obtained the approval of the masters of Japanese psychedelia like Acid Mothers Temple. The band's reputation is mainly due to the vehement performances which the members demonstrate on stage. After a first album Katsute Uta to Iwareta Sore in 2012, which tries to synthesize this chaotic scenic energy, the band is offered the opportunity to play at the Fuji Rock on the Rookie A Go-Go stage, dedicated to emerging artists, showing the meteoric rise of the quartet. Around the same time, GEZAN gradually began to shift the center of its activities to Tokyo, until finally settling in the capital.
Gradually, the band changed its tone and composed songs that wanted to be more catchy, approaching somewhat the standards of the dominant music industry. The result, in 2014, was the release of the second album called 凸 -DECO- which turned out to be more consensual. However, the underground identity of GEZAN is not tainted, like with the concert the same year at Shinjuku Loft, a famous underground livehouse in the Kabukichō district of Tokyo, where the band shares the poster with Jun Togawa, iconic singer of 1980s and major figure of the Japanese avant-garde.
The release in 2016 of the third album NEVER END ROLL demonstrates that GEZAN is now akin to the punk scene and finds uniqueness through the easily recognizable voice of Mahito the People. Although the album is a little less popular with fans, songs like wasted youth or blue hour have become emblematic songs of the band.
After the release of a single Absolutely Imagination in 2017, GEZAN marks a new musical change, remembering its first album, with the release in October 2018 of Silence Will Speak. Besides the fact that this fourth album is recorded by the famous Steve Albini, Silence Will Speak maintains a strong relationship with the United States. The documentary Documentary of GEZAN: Tribe Called Discord released in June 2019 traces this link by following the members of GEZAN during their American tour where the band confronts the societal reality of the country through meetings with the differents people and classes living in the country. The result is therefore an album showing new maturity, moving away from punk and turning to more visceral sounds, while mixing various musical genres as evidenced by the songs NO GOD or BODY ODD.
This musical development is a first step leading to the release in January 2020 of the group's latest album KLUE. True mix between rock, punk, dub or even psychedelia, this fifth album mixes heavy riffs with hypnotic loops, tribal rhythms and guttural songs. Like the "We can’t stand, we need a change" lyrics concluding the song Tokyo shows, this fifth album by GEZAN is also characterized by the political scope of its lyrics. As all the lyrics of the album available in English on Bandcamp shows, GEZAN delivers a message of rebellion to its listeners, a notable fact in a overall depoliticized country.
In addition to his own career, GEZAN has also established itself as a major player on the underground scene through the creation of Jusangatsu Records, an independent label. Although the label is known for the production of the albums of NUUAM (project between Mahito the People and Ichiko Aoba) or those of the solo career of Mahito the People, the label has also produced bands like 5000, the hatch and VOGOS. Nevertheless, Jusangatsu Records' main feat for the underground scene remains the creation of Zenkankakusai in 2014, a do it yourself music festival where access to concerts and food is free. Held on two dates each year, the festival has become one of the major musical events bringing together the entire Japanese independent scene and demonstrates that a fringe of the music industry of the archipelago doesn't wish to follow the paths marked out by the majors and other mainstream institutions.
Discography:
2009 - Hakkou Shita Waga Bokoku [EP]
2010 - Ichijitekina Chou [EP]
2012 - Katsute Uta to Iwareta Sore [album]
2012 - Live 2012 Osaka [live album]
2013 - split single with Odotte Bakari no Kuni
2014 - Live in Zaban (split live album with Tenniscoats)
2014 - 凸 -DECO- [album]
2014 - School Of Fuck / MINT YOU [single]
2014 - Strawberry Edge [EP]
2015 - Iitai dake no VOID / MARS COKE [single]
2016 - split single with LOSTAGE
2016 - NEVER END ROLL [album]
2017 - Absolutely Imagination / Ambiant Red [single]
2017 - split EP with Odotte Bakari no Kuni
2018 - Silence Will Speak [album]
2019 - DNA [single]
2020 - KLUE [album]
Clips:
MAN Hashika (from 1st album "Katsute Uta to Iwareta Sore")
Tenkan Suru Dainoutachi (from 2nd album "凸 -DECO-")
Hachigatsu no Mephisto to (from 2nd album "凸 -DECO-")
Kasabuta to Bakugekiki (from 2nd album "凸 -DECO-")
School Of Fuck (from mini-album "Strawberry Edge")
Iitai dake no VOID (from 3rd album "NEVER END ROLL")
wasted youth (from 3rd album "NEVER END ROLL")
blue hour (from 3rd album "NEVER END ROLL")
Absolutely Imagination (from single "Absolutely Imagination / Ambiant Red")
BODY ODD (from 4th album "Silence Will Speak")
NO GOD (from 4th album "Silence Will Speak")
DNA (from 4th album "Silence Will Speak")
Tokyo (from 5th album "KLUE")
Sekiyoubi (from 5th album "KLUE")
Some lives to show the crazy and talented performances that can be see at their concerts:
wasted youth (at Zenkankakusai 2017)
BODY ODD (at Zenkankakusai SHIBUYA 2019)
Set of KLUE songs (at SPACE SHOWER program: DRIP TOKYO)
And finally to discover them and their thoughts, an english interview of the band on The Japan Times!
I made this topic to be able to perhaps speak about this band with other people but I will be delighted if it can make discover this band to others! ^^